CROSSFIRE
Critical Thinking : Renewing your thinking for optimized decisions
By Herman Githinji
A lot of changes are happening in the workspace . Technology is taking over most of what we call “ work .” But what Robotics won ’ t be able to do is logically think and bring all futuristic emotional and physical considerations together for decision making . Therefore , to be relevant in the future work environment , we need to question how we think . To be conscious of how we interact and view our surroundings and the sense we make out of it . The way we connect dots . We generally need to evaluate the awareness and intensity of our thinking .
are many cognitive abilities , and managers are encouraged to develop them early enough . Those mental abilities include , but are not limited to , reasoning , planning , solving problems , thinking abstractly , comprehending complex ideas , learning quickly , and learning from experience .
But out of all these , critical thinking is becoming more urgent . In its Future of Jobs Report , the World Economic Forum shares its 2022 Skills Outlook and the top skills that employers will demand in the global economy of 2022 . In that report , analytical thinking and innovation are top . And a big part of analytical thinking is critical thinking .
And what is critical thinking ? In its definition , critical thinking is an effortful and continuous analysis and revision of one ’ s thinking process and output for reasoning and logic and to eliminate bias to increase the probability of a desirable outcome . It means that critical thinkers actively think about what they should be thinking about and how they think . They gather , synthesize , and evaluate information to make decisions ; however , they use logic and reason . Plus , they consciously work to avoid falling prey to various biases that can cloud their judgment .
Critical thinking is important because it uses logic and reason to reach viable conclusions . It is becoming most important because it does what computers and robotics won ’ t do . It involves using one ’ s brain and experiences to analyze information and situations to make a desirable decision .
While robotics will analyze data from the past to make future predictions , analytical thinking adds logic and reason to predict the future . Critical thinking also allows you to generate different and best decisions at all times , not based on additional information but from a renewed way of thinking about the same problems , or processing the same information differently .
“ We have to continuously review and change our thinking process to make our decisions progressive and relevant . The belief that what we know and think is enough for all times is the single most adversary of critical thinking ”
Critical thinking is , however , only valuable when it ’ s devoid of personal biases . Our backgrounds largely influence how we think . Decisions we make are nuanced by our cultures , values , religion , beliefs , surroundings , and the level of education we attained . That builds up a framework through which we judge and evaluate information from the outside .
Critical thinkers synthesize and assess knowledge through a mental framework , a standard , or criteria that they have developed and keep revaluating . It ’ s the quality of that criteria or mental framework that separates great critical thinkers from the rest .
That framework then essentially informs not what we think about but how we think . The quality of that metal framework depends on how consciously we keep renewing it based on changing information and situations . The critical thinking definition highlights an effortful and continuous analysis and revision of how we think . That means , irrespective of our cognitive abilities , we have a choice .
We have to continuously review and change our thinking process to make our decisions progressive and relevant . The belief that what we know and think is enough for all times is the single most adversary of critical thinking .
To become a critical thinker , you have to persistently challenge your thinking by refusing to accept decisions that come automatically from the top of your mind . I was once supposed to send a letter to Nairobi from Kisumu . The letter was urgent
8
MAL 44 / 21 ISSUE